March 13, 2010
Five Reasons Not To Convert To A Roth IRA

In recent months, you've probably heard a lot about the benefits of converting traditional pre-tax individual retirement accounts into Roth IRAs. But here's something you may not have heard: Many taxpayers should run, not walk, from a Roth conversion. We will tell you why.

March 6, 2010
Economists Warn Another Financial Crisis Is On the Way

Even as many Americans are still struggling to recover from the country's worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, another crisis - one that will be even worse than the current one - is looming, according to a new report from a group of leading economists, financiers, and former federal regulators.

February 27, 2010
January Mass Layoffs Edge Up On Weak Manufacturing Data

January mass layoffs edge up on weak manufacturing data.

● The Labor Department said the number of mass layoff actions -- defined as job cuts involving at least 50 people from a single employer -- increased by 35 to 1,761.

● Budget cuts are taking a new toll on the NYC Metropolitan Transit Authority. More than 1,000 layoffs, including many top managers, are expected as the agency strives to cope with dwindling revenue in the tough economic times.

● San Francisco school officials are scheduled to vote on a plan to layoff more than 900 school employees.

● In what it calls a "fundamental transformation" of its business, ABC News plans to cut about 20 percent of its workforce — or around 300 people — through buyouts or layoffs.

If the recovery is growing, where are the jobs going?

February 20, 2010
Modern Portfolio Theory is much riskier than you have been led to believe.

MPT (standard asset allocation modeling) is largely dependent on normal distribution. Market returns are assumed to cluster in the center of the bell curve while the infrequent big changes dot the outer edges. All price changes are independent of each other, there are no trends. The market is efficient, everything that can be known about a given security is reflected in its current price. You can control your risk exposure with proper diversification. We do not believe any of these things are true, but there are other strategies that can clear these things up.

February 13, 2010
Brother Can You Spare A Dime: Open Jobs Plummet

Unemployment may have dropped below 10% last month, but the number only looks good in a vacuum. The Bureau of Labor Statistics , the bearer of much of the federal government’s bad news over the last two years, said that the number of jobs open in America dropped to 2.5 million in December. That was a sharp decline from 3.2 million in the same month of 2008. The BLS reported that “Over the 12 months ending in December, hires totaled 49.4 million and separations totaled 53.6 million, yielding a net employment loss of 4.2 million.”

February 6, 2010
Higher Taxes For All, $1.6 Trillion ($1,600,000,000,000.00) 2010 Deficit

After cutting taxes for 95% of working families in his first year, President Obama has proposed a budget that would raise taxes on 100% of them. Even as the White House calls for another quick shot of stimulus to speed up job creation, its new 10-year budget promises to impose a fiscal regimen of major tax hikes and modest spending curbs.

January 30, 2010
Now showing this earnings season: The Incredible Shrinking Corporation.

Since the start of the recession two years ago, corporate and consumer balance sheets have been engaged in a forced bout of cutbacks that figure prominently in fourth-quarter earnings reports coming out now. The signs are everywhere. General Electric Co.'s chief financial officer on Friday referred to the "focused shrinkage" of its financial unit. A day earlier, Target Corp. said it plans to test stores that will have 50% fewer items.

January 23, 2010
Are bonds the next bubble?

Are bonds the next bubble?

Investors poured money into bonds and bond funds last year in search of safety and higher returns. Now the bond advantage is shrinking as risks are rising. "It has a bubble look to it," says Thomas Atteberry, the manager of FPA New Income, one of the largest independent bond funds.

January 16, 2010
This week we talk with Mr. Ken Gronbach

Mr. Ken Gronbach is an expert demographer, futurist and generational markete. Gronbach has founded 2 advertising agencies in his lifetime.

January 9, 2010
New Year but No Relief for Strapped States

It is one of the bleakest new years that states have seen in over a decade.

On Wednesday, governors in California, Kentucky and New York kick off the season of addresses to state lawmakers as at least 36 states struggle to close budget shortfalls and also begin confronting the next fiscal year’s woes.

January 2, 2010
FDIC Boosts 2010 Budget, Staff as Bank Failures Rise…

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., overseeing the dissolution of failed banks at the fastest pace in 17 years, boosted its 2010 budget 56 percent to $4 billion to manage further shutdowns. The additional 1,643 FDIC staff will include 1,559 temporary workers and 84 permanent employees, with a majority of positions added to the division that handles bank failures.

December 26, 2009
December 26, 2009